<p>Hope has all but faded for a Bourg man who was missing in the Mississippi River last week. </p><p>Veteran mariner Vernon Bumgarner, 59, fell into the Mississippi River north of Tunica, Miss., on Jan. 16. </p><p>Bumgarner was still missing as of Wednesday, said Tracy Ainsworth, Bumgarner's ex-wife and self-described best friend. </p><p>“They still haven't found his body, so we haven't got any closure yet,” Ainsworth said. </p><p>Ainsworth said Bumgarner worked for Houma's Caillou Island Towing. </p><p>The initial man-overboard report came in at about 6 p.m., said Lt. Ryan Gomez, a U.S. Coast Guard spokesman.</p><p>Gomez said Bumgarner was working on a tow boat when he fell in. Information about what exactly happened was not available.</p><p>Initially, Gomez said officials believed Bumgarner was wearing a life vest. His vest was later found on the vessel he fell from, Gomez said. </p><p>“After 24 hours, the search-and-rescue effort ended. I don't know the reason why 24 hours was the time for this one. That comes from a higher authority,” Gomez said. </p><p>Caillou Island Towing refused to comment on the incident or confirm Bumgarner's employment. </p><p>Dick Hackett, spokesman for DeSoto County Sheriff's Office in Mississippi, said crews searched with the Coast Guard but “ran out of hope” given the 38-degree water and lack of a life vest.</p><p>There was some speculation Bumgarner's body had been found. A body was discovered Friday morning near the Port of West Memphis, Ark. </p><p>“We have confirmed that it was not Mr. Bumgarner, but we have not identified the body,” said Mike Callender, chief investigator for the Crittenden County Sheriff's Office in Arkansas.</p><p>Ainsworth described Bumgarner as “awesome.”</p><p>“He was a jokester. He did anything for anybody. He would jump in the water and save someone himself. He was an awesome man,” she said.</p><p>Bumgarner joined the Navy in his teens and has worked on the water since, Ainsworth said. The two have a 12-year-old daughter and have remained close since their divorce, she added.</p>